Burton Francis (born 2 January 1987) is a South African former professional

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player who played as a

fly-half In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16� ...

Career

Youth

At youth level, he represented at the 2004 Under-18 Academy Week. He moved to the in 2005 and played for them in the 2005 Under-18

Craven Week The Craven Week is an annual rugby union tournament organised for schoolboys in the Republic of South Africa. The tournament started in July 1964, and is named after the legendary Springbok rugby union player and coach Dr Danie Craven. The ...

tournament, which also led to his inclusion in the S.A. Schools B team. He also represented the Leopards in the Under-19 Provincial Championship tournament. In 2006, he joined the and played for them at Under-19 and Under-21 level.

Blue Bulls / Bulls

He made his first class debut for the Blue Bulls in the

2008 Vodacom Cup The 2008 Vodacom Cup was played between 22 February and 16 May 2008 and was the 11th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. This edition of the Vodacom Cup was played between the fourteen provincial rugby union teams in South Africa f ...

match against the . Only two months later, he made his

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

debut for the in their match against the . He made several appearances for them in the

Vodacom Cup The Vodacom Cup was an annual rugby union competition in South Africa. Annual Vodacom Cup competitions were played between its inaugural season in 1998 and 2015 and was contested between February and May each year. The Vodacom Cup was the succes ...

and

Currie Cup The Currie Cup () is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier domestic competition, four South African franc ...

competitions in 2008 and 2009.

Golden Lions / Lions

In 2010, he moved across the

Jukskei River The Jukskei River is one of the largest rivers in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is the southernmost river in the Crocodile River basin. Course The Jukskei begins in Ellis Park in Johannesburg. Its original spring was on the former Doornfontein ...

to join the , representing them in both domestic competitions over the next two seasons, as well as making twelve appearances for the in Super Rugby.

Western Province / Stormers

He joined in 2012 and was named 14 times in Super Rugby squads for the , but only made six appearances. He also only made one solitary appearance for in the

2012 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2012 Currie Cup Premier Division was the 74th season in the competition since it started in 1889 and was contested from 11 August to 27 October 2012. The tournament (known as the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division for sponsorship reasons) is ...

SWD Eagles

He joined the on loan for the

2012 Currie Cup First Division The 2012 Currie Cup First Division was contested from 30 June to 13 October 2012. The tournament (also known as the Absa Currie Cup First Division for sponsorship reasons) is the second tier of South Africa's premier domestic rugby union comp ...

season and was also named in the squad for the

2013 Super Rugby season The 2013 Super Rugby season was the third season of the new 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition involving teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The tournament was won by the Chiefs, who defeated the Canberra-based Brumbi ...

, but was released after failing a medical test following a shoulder injury

Griquas / Cheetahs

His journey of South African teams continued when he joined for the

2013 Vodacom Cup The 2013 Vodacom Cup was played between 9 March and 18 May 2013 and was the 16th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. The Vodacom Cup is played between provincial rugby union teams in South Africa from the Currie Cup Premier and Fi ...

season. Following an injury to Elgar Watts, he was included in the ' Super Rugby squad. and never actually made a competitive appearance for Griquas.

Agen

In 2013, he joined French

Pro D2 The Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was introduced in 2000. It ...

side Agen.

External links

*
Stormers profile

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Francis, Burton Living people 1987 births South African rugby union players Stormers players Western Province (rugby union) players Rugby union fly-halves Bulls (rugby union) players Blue Bulls players Golden Lions players Lions (United Rugby Championship) players Rugby union players from Paarl Eastern Province Elephants players Cheetahs (rugby union) players SWD Eagles players 21st-century South African sportsmen